The Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act is set to clear the Senate Banking Committee this Thursday after Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) agreed to vote yes, giving Republicans the full party-line support needed to pass the bill without any Democratic votes. Kennedy struck a deal with Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) to add a fiduciary duty provision for crypto industry workers and to attach Sen. Elizabeth Warren's Build Now Act housing bill to the package. The committee splits 13 Republicans to 11 Democrats, meaning every GOP vote was required to advance the bill.
How Kennedy got on board
Kennedy's yes vote wasn't guaranteed until this week. The Louisiana senator pushed for a fiduciary duty standard covering anyone working in crypto — exchanges, custodians, advisers — a provision that wasn't in the original bill. By attaching it, Scott made the legislation more palatable to skeptics on his side of the aisle. The addition of Warren's housing bill, a separate piece of legislation aimed at boosting affordable housing supply, was a tactical sweetener that helped lock down Kennedy's support and gave Democrats a win on a priority issue.
The amendment pileup
Senate Banking members filed more than 100 amendments ahead of Thursday's markup. Several from Democratic senators target DeFi provisions in the CLARITY Act; the DeFi Education Fund has described those proposals as anti-DeFi. Kennedy said he'll hear Democratic amendments but signaled that an ethics provision pushed by some Democrats is unlikely to make it out of committee. The sheer number of amendments, however, doesn't change the math: with all 13 Republicans unified, the bill moves forward regardless of Democratic votes.
What's at stake for the bill
The CLARITY Act passed the House 294-134 back in July 2025 but stalled in the Senate over disputes on stablecoin yield rules — the same issue that nearly derailed it before. White House crypto director David Sacks framed Thursday's markup as a major win for U.S. competitiveness and thanked Senate staff for the compromises that got it there. Polymarket traders put the bill's odds of passing in 2026 at 73%.
Next up: the Senate floor
A successful committee vote sends the legislation to the Senate floor before the Memorial Day recess, a tight deadline that gives leadership just over a week to schedule debate and a final vote. The bill still faces potential filibuster and demands from both parties, but the committee's bipartisan — or at least non-opposed — advancement gives it real momentum. If it passes the Senate, the CLARITY Act heads to the president's desk, but the clock is ticking on this session.
